A little more on the deception, and a reference to the article that the thread starter linked to.....it is referred to in the report...
from the op link...
"On Saturday afternoon, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) put out a news release announcing that he had "secured an $80 billion commitment" from drugmakers."
From the House report...
"On June 20, 2009, the White House issued a 296-word statement from President Obama
announcing an agreement between the nation’s pharmaceutical companies and the Senate.6 The
statement makes no mention of White House involvement."
"The investigation has determined that the White House, primarily through the Office of Health Reform Director Nancy Ann DeParle and Messina, with involvement from Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, was actively engaged in these negotiations while the role of Congress was limited. For example, three days before the June 20 statement, the head of PhRMA promised Messina, “we will deliver a final yes to you by morning.” 7 Meanwhile, Ms. DeParle all but confirmed that half of the Legislative Branch was shut out in an email to a PhRMA representative: “I think we should have included the House in the discussions, but maybe we never would have gotten anywhere if we had.”8
Given these facts, it is unclear why the White House did not fully disclose its involvement with outside stakeholders in the development of the legislation. Their efforts are particularly surprising given the President’s repeated promises of transparency."
"After this Committee initiated its investigation into the potential promises or agreements made between PhRMA, labor unions, insurers, medical associations, and other trade and advocacy organizations, the White House derided the Committee’s request for basic information about its legislative efforts as “vast and expensive.” The White House refused to produce any of the requested documents and only produced to the Committee a list of meetings based on “calendar entries and other readily available information.” These calendar entries do not provide information on the attendees or details of discussion."
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